So, I'm not positive Muffin Man has been out the last 2 nights ... and I haven't ridden the goober since Friday. I could kick myself for not riding on Monday; it ended up being BEAUTIFUL. I've been in a bit of a funk this week, and have gone back to bed every morning after getting Kody off to the bus stop. When my alarm starts ringing, I keep "snoozing" it, and not getting up. Maybe it's the weather, I don't know, but I've definitely had a case of the poor poor pitiful me's. So, because of my inability to just GET OVER IT, and stay awake in the mornings, I've been getting to the barn with just enough time to clean the stalls:( I actually did arrive Tuesday morning in enough time to ride, with my paddock boots and chaps already ON, but it started to rain literally as I pulled in the driveway.
I haven't stressed about it. I have no grand plans for the immediate future, so when I get back into a routine, it will be just fine. SO, today!
Decided to ride him in the waterford today so I could take a feel of him, and put my leg on. Used the cc saddle, and hopped up. He was perfectly quiet as I walked on a loose rein until I felt him relax. Went straight into my 2-point, and cantered. He felt EXPLOSIVE, WOW! That hind end felt like it was flying out behind us! I cantered I don't know how many laps until he settled down. Walked, reversed, walked again for a bit, then cantered right lead in my 2-point. He was VERY swappy tracking right in the hind end. He kept changing leads that way! Also, he was falling in REALLY hard. I just kept going until I finally pulled him up (on the correct lead), and proceeded to trot around on a loose rein.
Gradually, I tightened the reins until he was trotting on contact. I kept my leg ON, and worked on maintaining a normal trot without him getting fast. He finally settled down, and let me put my leg on him. I did my exercise from the other day involving the 8 m circle, reverse, etc. He actually felt GREAT during that. Actually achieved a REAL collected trot to an extended trot, and it felt super. I did that for quite a few minutes both directions. Cantered and was actually able to sit, and he felt super light in the rear end still, but he'd settled in nicely.
The jumps in the ring were tiny, so I went ahead and trotted into everything. I can NOT trot jumps, AGH!!! Lol. Definitely my weakness. I managed to get myself in a rhythm, though, and we trotted over everything. The only time I cantered a jump, it was in a line; added the step. It was nice to not miss any canter distances. I kept him REALLY slow, and jumped from the base. Got jumped out of the tack one good time trotting over the coop. He left out a trot step and jumped it hard, and I flew up very high.
Overall, it was a wonderful day. Helped jar me out of my funk, for sure. Will NOT go back to bed tomorrow; planning to be at the barn by 8:30 so I can do a light hack before the vet shows up to do some stuff to other horses, and evaluate Tiki for hock injections. I just want her to flex him, give me her recommendations, and go over my options. Unless I currently have a winning lottery ticket, will probably not get them done until after spring break, because David wants us to spend as little money as possible for our little road trip we're taking ... 5600 miles, to be exact. Don't even know how many states! Lots of National parks and cool landmarks, I know. Planning to go during Kody's spring break, plus an extra week where he will just be out of school. Turning things around, I am!:)
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